ISLAMABAD: Shaikh Mohammad Mudassir lived up to his promise as he stunned former world under-18 champion Mohammad Naseem Akhtar in a gripping final to with the Jubilee Insurance National U-18 Snooker Championship here on Tuesday.

Mudassir, a beaten finalist in each of the last two editions, wrapped up a sensational victory in two hours and 15 minutes, winning 5-4 (2-53, 75-20, 55-14, 67-31, 68-29, 17-65, 8-80, 22-67, 74-25).

He will now take part in the National Championship, likely to be held in Karachi next month, and the IBSF World U-18 Championship in China in July.

Naseem, who won the IBSF U-18 title in 2017, was utterly dominant in the first frame showing great accuracy and control. However Mudassir rebounded superbly, winning the next four frames.

Naseem, who beat Mudassir in the 2017 final, however levelled matters by winning the next three frames before Mudassir, who lost last year’s final to Umer Khan, won the final frame convincingly to take the title.

Attention will now shift to the National U-21 Championship which begins from Thursday.

Published in Dawn, January 16th, 2019